Authenticity is the key term for any ethnic food, according to Chris Stepan, corporate chef, Vegetable Juices, Inc., Bedford Park, IL. “For today’s sophisticated consumer, native plants, spices and cooking methods signify authenticity,” he says.
While researching a line of curry blend ingredients for sauces, Stepan first visited ethnic neighborhood restaurants and grocery stores, and asked the folks who live there about what makes curry authentic. Back in the test kitchen, he created a gold standard match of representative curries and then worked with R&D to incorporate industrial ingredients that guarantee consistency, safety and shelf life. He then returned to the neighborhood sources of his inspiration for feedback and to determine authentic ethnic acceptance.
When manufacturing an Asian sauce or marinade for an American market, Stepan suggests that it’s often best to make it identifiable within the ethnic cuisine at hand without stepping outside of the American comfort zone. “A Thai native might prefer more lime juice, greater acidity than the American palate accepts,” he says. If they respond, “‘this might not be my mother’s recipe, but you’ve nailed the flavor,’ that’s your goal—authenticity without losing your audience.”
A good example is the Vindaloo curry product. “Flavors merge east and west,” says Stepan. “We blend 15 exotic herbs and spices with high notes of cumin and fenugreek, then meld it with the Western comfort-zone ingredients of tomatoes, onions and a fruit juice reduction to create a killer sweet-savory red sauce.”